DIP Publishing House / DIP Press / ProxVoice Publishing Co.

[Deleted member 42]

Does... does he actually have a book called 'Nigger Struck'?

Oh dear.

Edit: On further reading, here's little from the blurb.

So I see what he's going for, but he's right. I don't want to touch it.

The prose is, well, horrific.

 

[Paul J Andrew]

Do you suppose this is what watching a train wreck is like?

 

[Richard White]

This one is actually pretty mild. There have been some glorious ones in the past.

Check out the ParaDon thread in the index under Publishers. Also the Naughty Nights thread.

Those were rather "entertaining".

 

[Deleted member 42]

Just looking through the .pdf that Jinx posted . . . maybe I'm misreading something but is DIP claiming that they'll act as an agent for the writer? *first bullet under Publisher Commitment*

How does a publisher act as an agent?

Even if they weren't asking for money, this sounds like amateur hour all the way. I'd avoid this one at all costs.

Notice the "block" scheme? I think it's related to that, and they don't really realize what publishers, agents or editors do.

Don't miss the Ponzi-like references to "exchanges," either. Friends-and-family anyone? Buhler?

 

[Richard White]

This "publisher" may have some business experience but it's darn certain it's not in the field of publishing.

I'm neither a publisher nor an editor and I know what an agent, editor, copy editor, proofreader (all three separate jobs in case DIP is reading still), and a publisher do. I also know I'm barely qualified to be a self-publisher, and definitely NOT qualified to "publish" someone else.

As a wise man once said, "Man's gotta know his own limitations."

 

[shaldna]

I need "slander" for my bingo card.

I just need 'jelus' and 'libel'

I want to know what DIP Publishing branding genius thought signing an email "The DIP Legal Team" was a good idea?

What's to bet that no one on their staff has any sort of legal qualification that is relevant to the field?

I keep seeing DIP and wanting to add the word "stick" to the end of it.

Snap.

Argus Miltion's Web site: http://argusmilton.com

Beware annoying tinkly music - turn speakers down if at work.


I love it when people send threatening emails like that and all the while are citing their 'legal team.' Hell, I don't have a law degree but even I know that you can't stop someone from talking about your company in an open and honest way.

I think someone had a bad night, and will wake up this morning, see this and feel like an ass.

 

[shaldna]

Okay, I took a closer look at the DIP website - quite aside from all the horrible corporate stock photograph, there are some things that need addressed:

1. From the 'about' page they state they are 'Serving over 100 countries' - that's a pretty big task given that there are 196 countries (give or take for continually disputed borders, land rights etc). No mention, however, of what their presence, influence or dealings within those countries are. I suspect it's just a round number that sounds impressive, since only arouind 10 countries have English as a first language, and around another dozen have a high (over 70%) population that some degree of English as a second language - sooooo, they have foreign language folk? Working internationally?

2. Our Team 'The Executive team is made up of bright entrepreneurs with over 20 years experience in publishing. Our staff has an eye for quality and ranks second to none in creativity. As a rapidly growing company we are proud of our accomplishments and look forward to building upon our progress.' - no mention of who these people are, where they go their experience and what they did. No previous history, just this statement which, taken on it's own, means nothing.

3. The Bookstore features A LOT of really shitty home made covers - seriously bad, no professional at all, not even in the ballpark. Sorry. Not good enough.

4. The prices - $14.99 screams POD - not in itself a bad thing, however, when a substandard book is massively marked up, it's not inspiring confidence, and it's sure not gonna attract readers.

5. The order page - I just, for curiosity, clicked 'add to basket' for a book - I was taken to a page which had the title of the book (no image, no blurb, no description of any sort) an 'Order Book' button and a side bar which told me that I can 'Shop with confidence' because they are an Authorize.com approved merchant.

6. I clicked on the 'Order Book' button - cause I'm nosy like that - and I got this:

Item Description Qty Unit Price
bldwn2565 The Day I No Longer Heard The S * US $14.95
Book ($14.95 + $1.75 handling fee) Please allow up to 3-business days for processing before shipping.

Shipping
Select a shipping method.
Basic (5 - 10 bus. days): US $4.01†
Overnight: US $60.25†
Standard Ground (1-6 days):: US $8.75†
† Shipping rate is calculated according to the number of items purchased.

Shipping: --
Total: --
† Price depends on the number of items purchased as well as the selected shipping method.

Now, I'm not thrilled about a 'handling fee' which isn't part of shipping - and the shipping is quite high, to be honest - and no mention of international postage. So, basically, for a badly produced POD book I'd be paying around $20 (£16). Hmmmmm. Maybe not.

7. Their 'News' page does say that there is a website revamp coming this year.

8. Their 'contact' page has a form to fill and at the bottom an email address for submissions - no submission guidelines though.

All in all, it's a pretty shoddy site - it's overly cluttered and full of corporate stock photography and logo ads which makes it look like they are trying to sell me an advertising package or a magi-mixer. It's all pretty vague - no details about the owners, no details about the authors - not even links to authors websites or blogs etc. No information about the actual BOOKS. No information about submissions, genres, royalties etc etc etc.

Personally, I say avoid.

 

[michael_b]

Notice the "block" scheme? I think it's related to that, and they don't really realize what publishers, agents or editors do.

Don't miss the Ponzi-like references to "exchanges," either. Friends-and-family anyone? Buhler?

The structure of the thing reminds me greatly of a pyramid scheme with that $200 pooled fee everyone pays into the kitty.

 

[chopper]

The Admin contact in Whois for dippub.com is Argus Milton


Mr. Milton is terribly free with his [SUP]TM[/SUP]; I note that none of the terms he [SUP]TM[/SUP]s seem to be in the Federal registry.

sidenote: as far as i know, [SUP]TM[/SUP] doesn't need to be registered, it can be self-imposed/self-inflicted, which is probably why both DIP and our old intelligence-timeshare friends The Write/Wrong Agenda use TM and not ® - which does have to be registered with your Feds. Writer Beware®, note, is registered.

 

[GeekTells]

Just wanted to take a moment to salute the fine work you folks are doing. It's stuff like this that first brought me to the Water Cooler, and I appreciate all the experience in this community.

Thanks.

 

[aruna]

I love that Mac isn't scared of bullies.

 

[LindaJeanne]

.
Friends don't let friends google themselves after they've been out drinking late on a Friday night.

 

[Little1]

I love that Mac isn't scared of bullies.

+1

I am also glad that your not one to allow people to bully you Mac.


THANKS, truly, thanks for alllll the work you <3

 

[victoriastrauss]

I wonder if I will find a DIPsh*t legal threat when I open my Writer Beware email this morning.

- Victoria

EDITED TO ADD: Yeppers.

Argus Milton [email protected] via yahoo.com
11:21 PM (11 hours ago)

to me

To whom this may concern,

My name is Kenzie with DIP Publishing House, and I am requesting that this post be removed immediately, as it is a false representation of our company and therefore libel.
We are prepared to move forward with legal action if post is not removed within 48 hours.

Concerning the following link:
http://accrispin.blogspot.com/2011/08/solicitation-alerts-justfiction-edition.html

Thank you, Kenzie Delgado
Legal Assistant
DIP Publishing House
877-430-7769
(f) 800-257-3542
[email protected]
http://www.dippub.com/

 

[zanzjan]

Seriously - go piss up a rope.

Damn, but I you.

Dr. Sheldon Cooper prizes restraining orders from Leonard Nimoy and others, and he was personally insulted by Stephen Hawking.

*blinks* Who the heck is this Cooper guy and what did he do to Nimoy and Hawking?

I keep seeing DIP and wanting to add the word "stick" to the end of it.

That's not quite the suffix I was thinking of...

DIPsh*t

...but that was.

 

[Little1]

Awww poor DIP. You don't like people telling the truth? Did you never hear of the first ammendment????

 

[Deleted member 42]

sidenote: as far as i know, [SUP]TM[/SUP] doesn't need to be registered, it can be self-imposed/self-inflicted, which is probably why both DIP and our old intelligence-timeshare friends The Write/Wrong Agenda use TM and not ® - which does have to be registered with your Feds. Writer Beware®, note, is registered.

Were I going to liberally sprinkle TM through my un-dying prose, I'd, like, check to make sure a competing business hadn't already gotten to ®.

 

[HapiSofi]

They say they'll handle book distribution to more than 100 countries?

Hoo boy.

Allow me to confirm that they have no pertinent industry experience and no idea what they're doing.

 

[Bogna]

All in all, it's a pretty shoddy site - it's overly cluttered and full of corporate stock photography and logo ads which makes it look like they are trying to sell me an advertising package or a magi-mixer. It's all pretty vague - no details about the owners, no details about the authors - not even links to authors websites or blogs etc. No information about the actual BOOKS. No information about submissions, genres, royalties etc etc etc.

Between the price for a book (w/ fees and shipping) and the lack of submission guidelines, I'd say avoid like the plague. I can't even imagine why someone would submit to them if they couldn't find detailed submission guidelines on the site. Eek.

 

[Deleted member 42]

Sophia is another name associated with Dip Publishing.

Sophia is the name attached to many of the spammy solicitations sent via email or PM on boards like this one from the Authonomy display site:

Geetings to you,

My name is Sophia and I represent DIP Publishing House. I would like to discuss a potential publishing opportunity with you. This opportunity is not for Self-Publishing, although our company currently offers those services.
We are in search of a select group of Authors for a newly approved project called P.O.W.E.R... DIP Publishing has recently introduced a new and innovated way to publish called “Partnership-Publishing.” This traditional style of publishing was designed to give Authors with “potential” the opportunity to publish traditionally and receive the full backing of a publisher.

Authors selected are to complete a list of PBRs (Pre-Block Requirements) and shall be published over the next 3 to 6 months. Marketing and promotions will be handled under a budget set specifically for this program. For more information, feel free to respond to my email here or email my boss Argus at: [email protected]
I hope to hear back from you soon!

Best,

Sophia

Sophia identifies herself as Administrative Assistant on some solicitations, like this one posted at Writer Beware.

A number of people have noticed the odd similarities between the Dip Publishing plan wherein writers pay up front with the help of friends and families to a ponzi-pyramid-multilevel marketing scheme. Like this blogger whose friend got suckered into fronting $200.00 for books.

Sophia appears to be Sophia Mills who identifies herself as "a social networking marketer for Dip Publishing."

 

[Filigree]

Mac and Victoria, I feel for you, cheer you on, and hope that your situation doesn't turn nasty.

'Online reputation management' companies and their ilk need to understand the difference between merited litigation and a SLAPP lawsuit. Sometimes the companies hiring them are actually doing Bad Things and need to be called out.

 

[LeslieB]

"Geetings to you"? Seriously?

 

[shaldna]

I wonder if I will find a DIPsh*t legal threat when I open my Writer Beware email this morning.

- Victoria

EDITED TO ADD: Yeppers.

I want one!

In all seriousness, these folks need to chill out - no one is 'out to get them' (or whatever it is the kids say these days) and to be honest, if they have nothing to hide, then they have nothing to worry about.

Sophia is another name associated with Dip Publishing.

What's to bet that's a fake name?

Sophia identifies herself as Administrative Assistant on some solicitations, like this one posted at Writer Beware.

Hmph. In my profession (and many others) an Administrative Assistant (AA) is the lowest possible rank for an employee. Wonder if DIP know that.

 

[Unimportant]

Mac and Victoria, I feel for you, cheer you on, and hope that your situation doesn't turn nasty.

Ditto -- though, I admit shamefully, the entertainment factor has been sufficient to make me want to donate to AW again. Off to PayPal Land.....Twenty five bucks comin' your way, Mac.

 

[Deleted member 42]

I think the interest in "marketable" writers vs readable writers is telling.

Dip Publishing is absolutely designed to sell to writers, not to readers.